I've tried looking up textbook studying guides, but I just feel lost and like they don't even relate to the material I'm working with?
Or I'm just stupid and can't tell what they tell you to concentrate on. (from the guides I'm reading on studying I'm lost OTL)

Does anyone have any experience using the book "A Dictionary of basic Japanese Grammar by Seiichi Makino and Michio Tsutsui"?
Right now that's the book I want to study from currently, but I just don't understand how I'm suppose to study it.
I can read everything and hope by luck I memorize something eventually.
But I hear re-reading material over and over isn't the best way to make something stick. Does anyone have any more effective methods than that? xD
Like I guess I have trouble picking out what should be most important?

Right now I'm burnt out from using Anki or Flash cards, so I don't really want to use them. (but I guess I wouldn't know what to do for the flashcards anyways xD)

Write down what you learn into a notebook. Organizing it in a way that makes sense to you. Make sure to write these things down multiple times. The more you organize it in ways you like, the more you'll actually remember it. Make notes on when you would use it and how. Do what you think is important, and come back to others when you find you need it more/would use it more.

At least that's what works for me. You should customize how you study based on the ways you learn. (Although a dictionary isn't usually the best study material to learn, it's more useful for referring to stuff and refreshing your memory)

From what I read of those pages, koto is something that is used for intangible, e.g. knowledge. Therefore you can't use it for tangible things like food.

It can also be used with certain verbs to make the sentence more specific.
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That's how I would summarise it... :-/ Are there exercises in that book? If not, just read story books, that's how I would learn a new language.

Alright I guess that makes a bit more sense as to how to look at these entries, thanks.
(I still don't completely understand it but that gives me a better idea of what a note could look like for this and other entries.)

No there aren't D:
Looking at story books doesn't seem to help so much, cuz' I never run into the structures I study often enough, or it feels that way. xD
Maybe I'm just inpatient.
Maybe next time I'll just go skimming through everything till each time I come across the points I'm trying to learn. xD

Write down what you learn into a notebook. Organizing it in a way that makes sense to you. Make sure to write these things down multiple times. The more you organize it in ways you like, the more you'll actually remember it. Make notes on when you would use it and how. Do what you think is important, and come back to others when you find you need it more/would use it more.

At least that's what works for me. You should customize how you study based on the ways you learn. (Although a dictionary isn't usually the best study material to learn, it's more useful for referring to stuff and refreshing your memory)

When you don't realize what is important, it's really hard to take notes. xD If I take notes I always feel like I need to write everything, and in the end idk if that helps me much, but I get so worried about missing out, and not picking out what was actually important? xD
I suppose there's really no way to explain to someone what makes certain things more important in different instances. xD;

About writting down notes multiple times? Do you mean like in one sitting? once a day, every few days?

I'm not sure how I learn. xD Maybe I'll take an online test and find out.~
I do have an actual textbook, but I probably would have worse luck knowing what to take notes on compared to this dictionary, cuz' it has a lot more text. xD;

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Thanks for your suggestions, I think they helped, at least to some extent if not completely!

Spoiler Alert! Click to show or hide

Okay here I tried taking notes on it, I'm still not done, but I don't think I could fit everything on this notecard. xD
Would this be considered taking the important details of the chapter though?
Although it seems like I'm taking everything word for word for the most part.)

Language books? The simple secret to easy memory is meaningful content as many polyglots reveal. If you really like what you're taking input from, you'll never have to repeat it to remember it for a long time to come Go play games or whatever. Get out of deliberate learning when you can and do something just because you like doing it. Rikai-chan and text hookers are useful tools for the internet and visual novels so you don't have to go back and forth into dictionaries. Intonation and context tells you more about how to use "grammar" than trying to think about grammar in your ahead while forming sentences. You don't look up dictionary definitions for every word you don't know in your native language do you? Don't be too hard up on following everything exactly since after all, you're still your own person who can develop unique speech styles.

It's also worth noting that kids don't know what words are until after they've learned a language in general. They think several words or sounds is one meaning rather than thinking about the words one by one.

Language books? The simple secret to easy memory is meaningful content as many polyglots reveal. If you really like what you're taking input from, you'll never have to repeat it to remember it for a long time to come Go play games or whatever. Get out of deliberate learning when you can and do something just because you like doing it. Rikai-chan and text hookers are useful tools for the internet and visual novels so you don't have to go back and forth into dictionaries. Intonation and context tells you more about how to use "grammar" than trying to think about grammar in your ahead while forming sentences. You don't look up dictionary definitions for every word you don't know in your native language do you? Don't be too hard up on following everything exactly since after all, you're still your own person who can develop unique speech styles.

It's also worth noting that kids don't know what words are until after they've learned a language in general. They think several words or sounds is one meaning rather than thinking about the words one by one.

I have read about half those blogs you listed ahahaha (Ajatt, f3m, and well I didn't know lingq was a blog but I tried using their online system thing at one point.)

I DO try to read things in their native langauge, but it really shuts down my brain when I don't understand anything.
Same with videos or video games. :/
It doesn't matter if I feel like I'm having fun, my brain will shut down and put me to sleep if I'm stuck in a constant state of not understanding anything.
I'm still determined to learn Japanese, I spent too much on stuff for it. xD (I have like 20 in Japanese manga's in my room xD;;;; I'd say Love Stage and Shirokuma cafe are the easiest to understand of the ones I have though. And then like 5 types of study books for it.)

When reading Japanese Manga I look up words that keep getting brung up, or ones in sentences that aren't full of kanji, but I don't look up every word, cuz' that just makes it seem like a chore to do it for every word I don't understand. xD

But I could understand every word in a sentence, and still have no idea what a sentence is saying. :/ (Sometimes I can sometimes I can't, it depends on the sentence.)
So although I know they more or less recommend not concentrating on grammar, and I tried at one point, I now feel like I HAVE to study grammar, things I just don't think will make as much sense unless I have some more understanding of the grammar than what I already know. :/
I'm kind of too stupid to catch on by just reading native materials. xD;

Well the key thing is that it is a *Dictionary* of Japanese Grammar. It's not arranged as learning text book. It's a reference book.

Think of it this way, you wouldn't try to learn English from a dictionary. You use a dictionary to look up words when you have trouble or you want to learn more about usage. This is the same thing. It's structured as a set of basic grammar patterns that will give you more information about key grammar points than you would get in a regular text book; just like you would expect with any dictionary.

I think you should combine this with some other introductory text book that will teach you the basics. Then you can expand upon your knowledge with the "dictionary".

So, my recommendation:
1. Find a good introductory text book. Read a chapter.
2. Take grammar points from text book and look up in dictionary. Learn more about extended usage.
3. Enter new vocab in your flash card program.
4. Read any passages that you can that test your new skills.
5. Try writing some example sentences with your new grammar points.

Well the key thing is that it is a *Dictionary* of Japanese Grammar. It's not arranged as learning text book. It's a reference book.

Think of it this way, you wouldn't try to learn English from a dictionary. You use a dictionary to look up words when you have trouble or you want to learn more about usage. This is the same thing. It's structured as a set of basic grammar patterns that will give you more information about key grammar points than you would get in a regular text book; just like you would expect with any dictionary.

I think you should combine this with some other introductory text book that will teach you the basics. Then you can expand upon your knowledge with the "dictionary".

So, my recommendation:
1. Find a good introductory text book. Read a chapter.
2. Take grammar points from text book and look up in dictionary. Learn more about extended usage.
3. Enter new vocab in your flash card program.
4. Read any passages that you can that test your new skills.
5. Try writing some example sentences with your new grammar points.

Practice. Practice. Practice. Move onto the next chapter for step 1.

Oh okay, I didn't know the right word for it so I just called it a textbook for convenience. xD (I guess I should've said reference, but that didn't pop into my mind)

This review on amazon, was kind of the reason I wanted to use this book to study from rather than a textbook in the regular sense.

Spoiler Alert! Click to show or hide

People often ask me, "what's the best textbook for learning Japanese?" In my opinion, there are no good textbooks. What you need are good RESOURCES on certain areas, and this is the best for grammar. Unlike all the silly "Mr. Smith goes to Tokyo" textbooks, this book does not make you go through a pointless story from which you mine a few nuggets of information. A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar presents you with what you want to know, with no time wasted on anything else.

My actual textbook-textbook has 27 chapters but I've only gone through 10 of them, and that was years ago, I'd say I don't know half the stuff from a lot of those chapters, so I kind of dread going back to my textbook, and thought this might end up being better to use for awhile first, due to how precise everything is. (I just wish it has exercises in it)
I'm not really how I retained anything, other than just getting lucky, cuz' I never really applied any study techniques to the book but I didn't know how to do that. I was mostly reading the textbook, do the exercises but never really 'studying' it.
ATM my textbook is more of a dread to use for me right now, and I heard the important key in language learning is to have fun, so I've been avoiding it. I know I should get back to it one day though. xD;

Thank you for the advice on studying from a textbook, sounds like good advice, I think it should help me whenever I get back in the mood to use my actual textbook.~ <3
Although I'm terrible at making up my own sentences xD;